can anyone give a real definition of gnosticism?... because the only thing i have been able to find with an extended "definition" of gnosticism is wiped... and i would like to find out more on the subject so if you have a source where you get your info, please tell
Gnosticism refers to a diverse, synergistic religious movement consisting of various belief systems generally united in the teaching that humans are divine souls trapped in a material world created by an imperfect god, the demure, who is frequently identified with the Abrahamic God.
Gnosticism: a variety of Jewish and early Christian sects having an interest in nosies, or divine knowledge
The ancient Gnostics believed a demureGEod (Yahweh) created the world, and the real creator was unaware of human existence. They also had a cosmology which included God's mother, Sophia, who advised her son not to create the world, saying no good could ever come of it. Sophia created Lilith, Adam's first wife, who was wiser than Adam and made Adam feel inadequate. When Adam's first marriage ended, Yahweh created the sexier, dumber and more submissive Eve.
Modern Gnostics tend to dismiss or ignore the early beliefs in favor of direct spiritual experience, which they define as the true gnosis. Modern Gnosticism resembles Zen Buddism in its rejection of dogma and its unflinching acknowledgement of the total abyss of death.
Whereas Judaism and Christianity, and almost all pagan systems, hold that the soul attains its proper end by obedience of mind and will to the Supreme Power, i.e. by faith and works, Gnosticism places the salvation of the soul merely in the possession of a quasi-intuitive knowledge of the mysteries of the universe and of magic formulas indicative of that knowledge.
Gnosticism as a religion "refers to a diverse, synergistic religious movement consisting of various belief systems generally united in the teaching that humans are divine souls trapped in a material world created by an imperfect god, the demure, who is frequently identified with the Abrahamic God." (Wikipedia)
Gnosticism in another form is also the inverse of agnosticism, meaning it states absolute certainty on a given topic is assured. Agnosticism is the opposite, meaning absolute certainty cannot be assured.
And if you search YouTube you should find a series of lectures there as well. There is a LOT of info about this around. Did you read through these already?
The Nag Hammadi Library (basic writings of the Gnostics are among these):
WNW.gnosis.org/naghamm/nhl.html
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Arthur Jeffery, the author of the article on "Gnosticism" in THE
ENCYCLOPEDIA AMERICANA (1966 edition) wrote, in part:
"It was the church fathers who called them Gnostics, recognizing the common elements of nosies characteristic of the systems, however much they differed from one another in detail. For all of them nosies meant three things:
"(1) It was knowledge as a system of thought, for these teachers endeavored to provide a coherent explanation of man's life in his universe and to suggest answers to those perplexing questions of the origin of the world, the origin of evil, the reason for our feeling as though we were strangers here, what happens after death, why such inequalities and seeming injustices beset life, the plan of the ages, and the way to salvation. Thus in the _Excerpta_ex_Theodoto,_ 78, we read that nosies is 'knowledge of who we were, what we have become, where we were, into what place we have been set, wither we are hastening, from what we are redeemed, what birth is and what rebirth.'
"(2) It was also revelation, for the knowledge imparted was not knowledge that man could acquire for himself, but knowledge supernaturally given and privately imparted to privileged souls capable of receiving it. The Hermetic treatises, for example, have the form of secret instructions given by Hermes to his 'son' Tat, and the _Apocryphon_Johannis_ is esoteric instructions given by Christ to John on the Mount of Olives, which he is bidden to write but to reveal only to such as are worthy. In part these 'revelations' dealt with matters of cosmology (the universe), soteriology (salvation), and eschatology (the hereafter), but partly they were concerned with occult lore, charms, spells, magic names, and numbers, such as were later used in the well-known Gnostic gems.
"(3) But is was also experience. The Gnostic _knew_ because he had had an experience of God whereby he was delivered from his fears, his doubts, his uncertainties, and was assured of salvation. He had been awakened by the gnosis, knew what he was, whence he had come, and the path which he must follow to return to his home."
pg. 735 Vol. XII
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Rev. F. Lamplugh in his introduction to his translation of THE GNOSIS OF THE LIGHT:
"There was a Gnosis that strove to give the Peace of God to those within and to those without, because in Peace all things were made, that yearned to bring forth children, quickened fiery souls, aeons, gods, in bodies of light for the love of God; that saw in all things Grace, the Sponsa Dei, the Mother most pure and immaculate. 'No creature was ever wronged of Thee,' no spark ever quenched, no hope defrauded and hurled eternally from the sky with shattered wings by Thee. Such is the fair Faith that chanted its prayer beneath a heaven set with such strange galaxies, and whispers to us now through the disremembered symbols of a forgotten book." (pp. 17-18)
"Gnosis was not a 'philosophy' in the generally accepted sense of the term, or even religio-philosophy. 'It was immediate knowledge of God's mysteries received from direct intercourse with the Deity--mysteries which must remain hidden from the natural man, a knowledge at the same time which exercises decided reaction on our relationship to God and also on our nature or disposition' (Reitzenstein). It was the power or gift of receiving and understanding revelation, which finally culminated in the direct unveiled vision of God and the transformation of the whole man into spiritual being by contact with Him. The ground of the idea of Gnosis does not seem to be very different from that of the later 'Mystical Theology,' 'which originally meant the direct, secret, and incommunicable knowledge of God received in contemplation' (Dom John Chapman). The revelation sought for was not so much a dogmatic revelation as a revelation of the processes of 'transmutation' of Rebirth, of Apotheosis or 'Deification.' Its aim was dynamic rather than static. But while the followers of the Gnosis, both Christian and Hellenistic, would have agreed that the direct knowledge of God is incommunicable to others, they undoubtedly seem to have held that there were what may be described as intermediate or preparatory processes or energizings which could be communicated..." (pp. 9, 10)
CJ, calling Gnosticism garbage and satanic is as intolerant as saying the same about Buddhism, Judaism, HInduism. How would feel if someone called your belief system "garbage".
I'm not trying to argue or belittle but there is a right way and a wrong way to discuss religion and spirituality. I have never heard or read of any spiritual leader insult another person's belief system. So why would you?
To answer the question:
"Throughout the ages, the Gnostics have been hunted and persecuted for claiming to be able to directly experience the Divine. This has set Gnosis apart not only from many religions, which place an emphasis on belief and worship, but also from other studies and sciences. The word 'Gnosis' originates from ancient Greek and means 'knowledge'. However, the knowledge it refers to is not that which comes from years of studying books, from degrees, from being an expert in a given field, or from reading widely ? but rather, from a direct experience of the truth. The Gnostics have always professed an ability to go to the very sources of wisdom through spiritual practice. "
The rest of this article is here:HTTP://www.gnosticweb.com/gnosis-through-ages
What exactly is gnosticism?
